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The latest chapter in the ongoing efforts to save the endangered vaquita porpoise and the resulting impact on trade with Mexico unfolded on July 17 when the current administration published a letter to Congress outlining what trade sanctions, if any, would be imposed upon the government of Mexico. The letter was mandated by a settlement between the U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) and three conservation groups that had filed suit in the Court of International Trade. The conservation groups had been petitioning Interior since 2014 to take action under the Pelly Amendment to the Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1967 to certify that Mexico was in violation of the act and international agreements by not taking adequate measures to protect the vaquita. Interior agreed to certify that Mexico was not meeting its obligations and that the executive branch must then determine what action to take. The vaquita is a miniature porpoise indigenous only to the Northern Gulf of California. It is protected under several U.S. laws. There are believed to be only 15 or less left in the wild.
The main threat to the vaquita is the use of gillnets to catch the totoaba fish that shares the same habitat with the vaquita. The vaquita can become entangled in these nets and drown. The totoaba are also endangered, however, the swim bladder of the totoaba is highly valued in China for its supposed medicinal properties. Customs and Border Protection in June seized 242 pounds of totoaba bladders attempting to be smuggled through the Port of Nogales. The estimated value was almost 3 million dollars. In the letter, it was stated that no sanctions would be imposed on Mexico at this time, as progress is being made in the ongoing dialogue between the two countries. There certainly will be more to come concerning the fate of the vaquita and how this will impact trade.
In an Executive Order published on March 24, 2025, the administration has announced 25% tariffs on countries that import oil from Venezuela. The order states that “On or after April 2, 2025, a tariff of 25 percent may be imposed on all goods imported into the United States from any country that imports Venezuelan oil...” These duties will be supplemental to duties already imposed such as IEEPA, Section 232, Section 301 China tariffs, etc.
Additionally the President signed an executive order on March 26 applying Section 232 duties to automobiles, light trucks and auto parts (such as transmissions/powertrain parts, engines and engine parts etc.). The rate of duty will be 25% and this will go into effect starting April 3. It will not apply to USMCA parts until a process has been established to account for the non-US content of auto parts. If additional parts are to be tariffed, there will be a Federal Register notice as soon as practicable after the Commerce Secretary’s decision, and the tariffs will be collected one day after that notice.
Finally in response to a question yesterday, the President indicated that Lumber Tariffs may come starting on April 2.
Tariffs on Imports
Note this information is subject to change
Canada
• 25% IEEPA tariff on goods not meeting USMCA (U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement) rules of origin.
• 10% IEEPA tariff on potash not meeting USMCA (U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement) rules of origin.
• 10% IEEPA tariff on energy not meeting USMCA (U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement) rules of origin.
• IEEPA tariffs became effective March 4, 2025.
• March 7, 2025 the carve out for USMCA became effective.
• USMCA qualified goods can be entered without the additional IEEPA rate.
• There’s no mechanism to recover duties paid from March 4 through March 6 on USMCA goods.
• If eligible for USMCA based on USMCA rules of origin, then IEEPA tariff will not apply.
Mexico
• 25% IEEPA tariff on goods not meeting USMCA (U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement) rules of origin.
• IEEPA tariffs became effective March 4, 2025.
• March 7, 2025 the carve out for USMCA became effective.
• USMCA qualified goods can be entered without the additional IEEPA rate.
• There’s no mechanism to recover duties paid from March 4 through March 6 on USMCA goods.
• If eligible for USMCA based on USMCA rules of origin, then IEEPA tariff will not apply.
China
• IEEPA 20% tariff on all imports.
• Was initially 10% but was increased to 20% on March 4, 2025.
• Started on February 4, 2025.
• Goods on final leg destined to the US prior to February 1 and arriving before March 7, 2025 were eligible for an exemption on the IEEPA tariff.
• Existing Section 301 tariffs still in affect on top of IEEPA tariffs.
• Tariffs stack including IEEPA, 301 and 232 tariffs.
• Existing Section 301 exclusions are still in effect until their expiry date.
Section 232: Steel & Aluminum Tariffs
• All non-US steel and aluminum tariffs are 25% regardless of origin
• 25% tariffs expanded to include derivative products.
• No more exclusion process
• No Drawback allowed
• End of quota agreements with affected countries
• FTZ admissions must be in Privileged Foreign Status
• Listing of affected HTS codes and their corresponding chapter 99 program tariff can be found at the link below.
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)
• Grants the U.S. President authority to regulate commerce in response to national emergencies.
• Used to impose economic sanctions, restrict trade, or freeze assets of individuals, companies, or governments.
• Aims to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.
• No drawback allowed
JAS Forwarding (USA) Inc. Compliance Team is pleased to announce that we will be hosting a webinar on all things tariffs on March 25, 2025, at 3PM Eastern time.
On the agenda, we will cover Canada tariffs, Mexico tariffs, China tariffs, Steel & Aluminum, reciprocal tariffs and much more.
Our own Laurie Arnold and Scott Cassell will discuss tariffs and answer questions. Check out our webinar flyer and the link to the registration page below.
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